meanwhile, syria's president bashar al as yachted has given a defiant interview to "russia today." >> i think the invasion, if it happens, is going to be -- if you have problem in syria -- secularism and stability in the region and coexistence. it will have domino effect that will affect the world from the atlantic to the pacific. >> his interview comes as syrian rebels are stepping up attacks on residential areas of damascus that are dominated by allies of the president. cnn has obtaineded this video from youtube, appearing to show rebels launching mortar attacks in the capital, while the violence intensifies back at home, members of syria's op sdmrigs, they have been meeting in qatar, working on a new national assembly that is more inclusive. mohammed is tracking the story from our our lebanon bureau. you have a lot of people involved in the talks here, and that doesn't mean that it's going to come to any kind of revolution or conclusion. how likely will it be that you'll have folks that say, look, we've got a solution here, and so many people have failed before them. >> it has to b